Second Circuit Rules Courts Cannot Compel Employers To Pay Arbitration Fees Under The FAA

Takeaways

• The court held that an employer's failure to pay disputed arbitration fees in an ongoing arbitration does not amount to a refusal to arbitrate within the meaning of the Federal Arbitration Act.
• Payment of arbitration fees is a matter for the arbitrator or arbitration provider to resolve, and courts do not have authority to intervene in "intra-arbitration" procedural disputes.
• Now, employers in the Second Circuit have greater opportunities to challenge improperly allocated arbitration fees, which may be especially important when facing mass arbitrations.

Related link

• Frazier v. X Corp.

Article

An employer that withholds disputed arbitration fees in a pending arbitration has not "refused" to arbitrate within the meaning of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA); therefore, a court has no authority to compel the employer to pay those fees under the FAA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held. Frazier v. X Corp., No. 24-1948